Disgraced By The Gods
Disgraced by the Gods Prologue Alexis Armstrong, daughter of Mark Armstrong and granddaughter of Neil Armstrong; the first man on the moon. She is tracking down a boy named Keith, who keeps appearing to Alexis in visions. Will she find him before his captors kill him? Chapter 1 Have you ever felt it, when you wake up and you feel like you lost something that felt very close to you. I experience that every day. Last night I got into a fight with a Northern giant who decided I'd look nice on a silver platter. Eventually after at least an hour of constant fighting, I eventually caught the Achilles heel that was keeping him alive and slaughtered him. After that I crashed in an abandoned service station, and ate some of the food I'd stole prior to the giant fight and used some of the boards on the window to make a fire. I rolled out of my new sleeping bag and fell asleep almost immediately after laying my head on my jumper. In my dreams I was reliving my fight with the giant except it wasn't me fighting, it was a guy that looked at least 15 years old, my vision changed to the face of a woman, in what seemed to be outer space. She studied me and then said "You made a risky move slipping away like that, do you have the dagger?" she asked. "Yes, I've been seeing you in my mind for a while; can't you tell me who you are?" I pleaded tiredly. "Me, Alexis I am Asteria, your mother Goddess of Astrology" '' ''"What am I to do mother?" I asked worried. "My daughter, you should head west, this boy you see in your dreams, his name is Keith and he has been kidnapped by a rare breed of giants that even Zeus himself has forgotten about. What you are to do is seek Zephyrus and tell him I ask for a favor and you shall recieve help," Asteria said "Now sleep, you have a long way to travel and the train will be here soon." she finally said and vanished. I was left thinking, this guy who keeps getting in my head will get a serious beating if I don't find him. I woke to the sound of thumping on the boarded, molded door. "WE KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" a man's voice shouted. "If you come out we won't hurt you, we promise" said another deeper voice. Even through the deep walls I could smell the beasts from here, they were not humans so I decided to play a mind trick on them. "My mother would be angry for talking to strangers." I said in a sad voice. "It's ok, she is the one that sent us to get you and there is no need to worry Alexis." the voice answered back. I started to realize what they were. "You see Laistrygonian giants would not lift a finger for my mother." I answered and took out my dagger which I named "Inastros" which means starry in Greek. And I pulled out my Pistol. "You'd best leave or I will slaughter you like the animals you are!" I said taunting them. "We aren't leaving until you are with us... dead or alive". '' '' "I don't know about you but in for the challenge" I said and as one of them looked through a gap in the boards I shot at him, I thought I missed but then I saw the dust particles come through the gap.' ''"Stupid girl, I'm getting you one way or the other." the voice shouted even louder and started ripping down the boards across the door. I started shooting at him but I kept missing. Then I realized I still had my dagger. "Have a nice time in Hell loser!" I struck the ground with my dagger and the ground went pitch black, around his legs the ground began to crack and crumble. "You’re an intolerant brat! I hope my master gets his revenge on you!” He screamed and fell through the ground. I picked up my dagger and reloaded my gun. I walked out the door and walked up the highway not thinking of what was out there. Chapter 2 It took me ages to find some place to eat, and I was walking for the atleast an hour. My legs were tired, my stomach rumbled, and my shoulders ached from strain of my backpack. Thankfully I made my way to the door of a drive-in diner. The sign read "Open 24/7; feel free to take the weight off your feet." I walked in and found that the place had only one couple sitting down the end that seemed too wrapped up in conversation they didn't even notice the door chime going off. The lady behind the counter was shouting some orders to the guy in the kitchen. Once she saw me she stopped and said: "Hey there, just park yourself anywhere and I'll be with you in a moment". "Thank you." I replied and sat in the window seat next to me. She eventually came to my table after at least ten minutes. "Sorry for the wait, what can I get you?" She asked as I took out my purse and saw I had three hundred bucks from when I'd robbed a lady at the supermarket. '' ''"I'd like some waffles with maple syrup, a fry-up and a double de Café Latte." I said as she wrote it down and then walked off. I looked around thinking that the place wasn't too bad. I looked out the window and saw that there were a few cars in the lot and was thinking up a few ways to get away. The lady who worked behind the counter came back out with my order. "There you go, ma'am, enjoy." She said and I caught a glimpse of her name tag, it said "Maria B". I ate my food and I noticed the woman from the seat up the far end of the dinner slid away from her table and walk my way and slid in the seat across from me. "Well it has been a while since we had you people in here." She said. "A teenager?" I asked. "No demigods, I am the goddess of goddess of Marshes and Orcards. I am a daughter of Atlas- an Atalntide. I am ''more famously known as, the mother of the messanger god Hermes."' ''She stated and looked out the window. "What can I do for you Maia?" I asked shoveling more food into my mouth. '' ''"It's more what can I do for '''you'. I am willing to give you a mode of transportation from here- Kentucky- to Oklahoma"'' "Why would you want to do that?" I asked curiously as I finished my Latte. "Well, we are related after all and it's the nice thing to do. If you plan to get on this ride I'd be at Union Station Louisville at 2pm." She said everything froze and time sped up nothing was left but a daffodil. I packed up my stuff, walked up to the counter and when the lady was busy in the kitchen I reached behind the counter and searched for the keys to a car outside, fortunately they were there where my hands were. I decided to grab a coffee to go on the trip. I ran outside and tried two or three cars until I came to the last car. It was a Toyota. I opened up and got in. Thankfully none of the gears were too complicated so I started her up and drove down the highway using the already set GPS. So I tried it out while doing 60 "Union Station Louisville please." I said. "Planning route... please wait." The machine replied. "Don't worry; I don't plan on going anywhere" I turned off onto a shortcut that heads in the direction of Louisville. "So, how can I tell you are really my mother?" I said as I pulled out my dagger. My "mothers" face appeared in the shiny part of my dagger. "Do you doubt me my child?" Asteria asked. "The only thing I doubt is that is it not Zeus's law that gods cannot have contact with their children, am I mistaken?" I asked. "I stand corrected, you’re not as dumb as I thought, you are right I am not your mother but I do need your help." the goddess said. "What can I do for you?" I asked curiously. "I am Phoebe, the wife of Coeus and the Mother of Leto and Asteria. I need your help my granddaughter, this boy you see in your dreams his name is Keith Chase. He is my demigod son and he has been kidnapped by a Monster feared by us gods as she fed on our children, they call her Lamia, the child-eating daemon" Phoebe said in a lowly voice. "Have you any idea where I can find her Lady Phoebe?" I asked keeping my eyes on the road. "Like I said keep driving, and take this train to Oklahoma as in the west is the last place Lamia was scented. When you are in Oklahoma search out Chariclo, the wife of your famous Chiron and ask her for The Horn of The Hunters, That is all for now, good luck." and her image faded away. Chapter 3 The drive to Louisville was not as far as I had previously imagined but gods was I glad to see the sign for the station. It took me fifteen minutes to get from mid- highway to the entrance to Louisville Union station. I parked up the Toyota I travelled in, got my bags out of the trunk and strolled into the building and up to the service desk. "Excuse me, may I get a one-way to Oklahoma please" I asked trying to catch a glimpse of the ticket vendor. "Single or group?" the ticket vendor said and as she lifted her hand I seen she had the longest nails I've seen on a woman. "Single, please." I said trying to take my attention away from her talons. "Here you go, that's 6 dollars, please" she said and I handed her the money and walked away to find my platform, eventually finding it. As I waited I spotted a sort of oldish man beckoning me over. I placed my hand on my pistol and walked over slowly trying not to make it obvious that I was freaking out. He sort of made a "follow me" motion and I followed him to the stair where no one was waiting. "I was waiting for your kind for the last centary, that's a long time to send a package and even longer seeing as the messanger god doesn't even classify me as a god, not even as a minor god, let me tell you this young demigod, I am Skiron god of the North-west wind and even Hera would class me as a good example of how we gods are" Skiron said starting to get angry. "Lord Skiron, I am not sure that gods would be patrolling the train stations if you ask me but I have never heard of gods being neglected, perhaps you need to prove to Zeus that you are worthy of his companionship, what help where you during the titan attack on New York?" I asked Skiron inquisitivley. "Want the truth? I wasn't even told the titans were rampaging across the U.S, during the first titan war I was called on with my brothers Apeliotes the south-eastern wind, Kaikias the North-West wind and Lips the south west wind and we took to the sky, fought tooth and nail with the titans until we were called on retreat by Zeus. We were told to take care of the dracaenae as we were too careless and weak to take on even Epimetheus, I don't think Zeus would want my brothers and I back even to pray at his feet" Skiron said and stared out at the platform. "You told me you had a package to send, who is it for?" I asked trying not to make the god angry. "It is for my leutienant, Zephyrus, it is a charm I found while I was out scouting. Tell him it represents the west winds and everything in its power. Tell him, don't forget who saved his life" Skiron said and sat on the little bench beside him. "Would you like me to get it to him safely as I have to meet him on my travels, If so how do I find him" I asked him. "It would do me the greatest of pleasure to know it will get there, thank you. Now as to finding Zephyrus, all you have to do is follow the wind, and if that becomes too difficult all you need to do is, ask a wind but not the wind" He said "Your train awaits" he added and he began to glow. I blocked my eyes and when I looked back all that was left was a gentle breeze. I got on the train and sat beside this homeless person as it seemed it was the only seat available. "I wouldn't do it you know" she said and didn't even look at me. "Excuse me, where you talking to me?" I asked trying to scoot away from her. "Yes indeed Alexis, see I may not look the part but I too am a minor god as it happens. I am Penia the goddess of poverty and see my husband is the god of plenty, Porus and he happens to know what Lamia plans to do" Penia said. "So what, I don't care what BS your husband is feeding you, but I plan to get help, and it won't be from you," I said, got up and walked down the train. "PLEASE, help me Alexis," Penia said "She has my twin daughters also and she has been torturing me" she added. I walked back to her and sat down. "What are you on about, have you reported this to Zeus?" I asked. "I went to but it was only Hera and Aphrodite there, I told Hera and Aphrodite told her it was a hoax as Lamia has not been seen in eons. I just disappeared and wanted to find a trustworthy demigod to help me." Penia said and started to cry. "It's ok, Lamia has taken not just your children but Phoebe's son and she is also terrified" I said trying to comfort her. "When we get to Oklahoma, you must accompany me Penia, no questions asked, I will get the help you need and you will help me in return." I added. "You don't understand, she has kidnapped Porus also, I fear terribly that I may be next" Penia said "It's not just her, she is working with Telekines but not only she has also gained the trust if Stheno, Medusa's sister and Tityos, a monster once slain by Artemis and her brother Apollo. It appear to me that they have entrusted the help of an underworld goddess to help some long dead enemies escape." Penia added and suddenly the train came to a halt. "What in Zeus's name happened?" I asked Penia who looked like she had seen her reflection for the first time. "Kakodaimones, the evil spirits issued up form Hades to cause mischief, and I bet they didn't know who was on this train...me." She said and held up her arms "BE GONE WITH YOU, YOU HAVE NO BUSINESS HERE, BACK TO HELL" and the blackness faded and the train started moving again. "Now that there is no interuptions, we need to plan our next moves, Zephyrus will help us I hope" I said afraid of what Penia is capable off. Then we went back to planning plan B, our saviour plan. Chapter 4 The train ride was longer than expected, Penia constantly talked about her relationship with Porus and how civilisation has changed in great measures of time. She explained how she once fought with my mother over a message that was written in the stars but now her and my mother were on talking terms. I told her to quit with the nonsense she was talking about and hurry up with thinking of a plan. We didn't have much other than that once we get to Oklahoma we were to follow the breeze which we wouldn't need since seeing as Penia was a goddess and mosts god/dess's have the power of Aura reading she can sense Zephyrus' to his exact location, basically like a human GPS. "Are you sure you can find Zephyrus?" I asked her not sure whether she was lying or not. "Sure I can find him, sure I can sense him now he isn't that far actually and I have been to his mansion before" Penia said looking up to the clouds. "Fine I guess I believe you, are we far from his place?" I asked her even though she was trying her best to concentrate on the clouds. "Yeah not far, actually I can see the palace from here" She said pointing to lights flickering in the sky. "What are the lights, is it some sort of storm?" I asked. "No it's just the lights to say that he is open for business" Penia said rubbing her stomach as if she was hungry. Just as she was about to say something else the train came to a halt at the train station and once the conductor's voice quietened we grabbed our gear and headed out the door. "How do we get up there?" I asked hinting at the clouds. "Well I am a Goddess, I can faze up there" Penia said, grabbed my arm and we fazed up to the cloud right outside the massive gates to Zephyrus' place. Penia pressed the buzzer outside the gate and we waited for the best of five minutes and then a female voice came over the intercom, "Hello, what can I do for you?" The womans voice said. "Hello Chloris, it's Penia and I have here the Daughter of Asteria. Is your husband at home?" Penia said in a gentle voice. "Oh Penia, nice to have you here, yes my husband is just about to let out the westerly winds of the day, he is in a conference but he won't mind, come through" Chloris said and the metal gates turned invisible for us to pass through and as I had thought the metal went back to it's original form once we had passed through it. We walked up the winding path and as I did I was admiring all the spirits and sprites floating around the luxurious palace gardens that were full of every flower imaginable. "How do the grow up here?" I asked Penia who was doing the exact same as what I was doing. "Chloris is the Goddess of flowers and greenery, i'd say all these are hers" Penia said and her eyes focused on the path once again. We walked up to the door and a little woman spiralled out of the ground and opened the door for us. "Welcome to Zephyrus's Paradise" the Grass spirit said and ushered us to the conference room in the far side of the building which was more magnificent then I had imagined form seeing the Exterior. Birds flying freely and plants all over the place, it really was a paradise. We eventually entered the Conference room which was I'd imagine was the biggest room in the building. There were five figures at the table, at my nearest right there was a woman in a white gown that seemed to generate breezes from the end of her gown, next to her sat another woman who wore a peach colored gown with a tiara on her head and she seemed bored, across the table sat a man in a baby blue toga, beside him to my closest left sat a man in a white toga with a compass around his neck and the mighty Zephyrus sat at the head of the table in all his glory. Just as we entered the room a last lady sprouted from the ground in a green gown and sat at the last remaining seat. Finally Lord Zephyrus spoke, "Well Hello Penia and daughter of Asteria, I think an introduction is in order, to my right is Lips, god of the south-west wind, to my left is Aurora, goddess of the dawning morning, to my far left is Aura, goddess of cool breezes, to my far right is Libonotus, god of the South-south-west wind and my lovely wife sits across from me, Chloris Goddess of Flowers and Greenery, what can we do for you?" Zephyrus asked inquisitively. "First of all, I have a package from Skiron, he said it is a representation of the westerly wind's power, he also said not to forget who saved you" I said and the box flew out of my hands and into Zephyrus's hands. "That spiteful minor, no offense Lips. Now what else can I do for you?" Zephyrus asked Penia directly. "It's her again my lord she has returned, The one we call the child-eater" Penia said her voice shaky with worry "She is not only recruiting, but she has taken a Demigod child of Phoebe and my husband the God of plenty, Porus". "Well that is an issue, I have spotted something that looked like her but I wasn't sure so I let Aeolus know and he has been on look out" Zephyrus said. "We need to check the update system, My lord" Chloris told her husband. Zephyrus clicked his fingers and a clear screen appeared in front of his face. "Update: Lamia" he said and the machine clicked and whirred and it finally replied "Lamia a.k.a The Child- Eater daemon, location Unknown, association please wait" the machine said. "What have you heard Penia about Lamia this time?" Lips asked Penia. "I know she has recruited Stheno Gorgon, a few Telekines and......... my Lord she released him also, she released Tityos" Penia said now sounding even more afraid. The machine whirred again. "Associates, Stheno Gorgon, Nedaretho Telekines, Tityos and recent recruits include The Titan Menotious, Orthrus the two- headed serpent dog, The Aloadae, The Titan Coeus, The Titan Hyperion and Alops the giant" The machine said and disappeared. All the Gods present looked at eachother nervously and Zephyrus was the first to speak. "Libonotus contact Kaikias and tell him to go to Boreas' palace and tell Boreas and Khione to be in Olympus tommorrow explain the situation, contact Circius send him to Eurus and tell him to be in Olympus tomorrow and send Apeliotes to Notos and tell him to be in Olympus also. Aura go to Camp Jupiter and inform Reyna and get her, Terminus, Jason and Hylla to Olympus tomorrow. Aurora go to Olympus and get Dionysus, Chiron, Annabeth, Percy and if Hestia is there get her to Olympus also. Lips round up your brother and meet in Olympus. Chloris you and Miss Alexis go to Olympus now and tell all, Penia to the Garden of the Gods and tell any gods there to come tomorrow and I shall go to Aeolus" Zephyrus finished and vanished along with Lips and the other gods. Chloris came over to me and we vanished and arrived at Olympus in what seemed like a millisecond. We stood at the far end of the bridge and I took in the whole Olympic Glory. In my head I connected with Keith again and this time Stheno was whipping him as Menotious and Coeus talked, I caught something he said "They won't know what hit them when we help them escape" Coeus said. I woke to a splash of water on my face. "Alexis are you alright?" Chloris asked helped by a child. "Yeah, it was a vision, I heard Menotious and Coeus talking" I said and was interupted by Chloris. "Keep that thought, we need to get to the throne room ASAP" she said and made a wheelchair out of vines and leaves thats seemed to wheel itself. I knew I was home. Chapter 5 We raced through the streets of Olympus, dodging godlings and jumping over grass patches. I ran ahead not noticing that Chloris had fallen behind, when I was far enough ahead I turned and saw that Chloris was stuck in a trance, so I raced back to her and shouted at her "Chloris? Chloris whats happening?" I asked Chloris who lifted her hand and pointed to a group of girls playing music in the park. "The Muses are my favourite band, what do you think?" Chloris said again swaying to the gentle harmonies of the leading singers. "Snap out of it, come on we have to go now, we are on a mission" I said and pulled her away from the music. We ran towards the bridge that leads to the massive building in which contains the throne room that seats the gods. We where just about to cross to the other side when a bright light appeared in front of us, not just any light but the fazing light of a god. Just as fast as the light appeared, it faded revealing a woman standing at the end of the bridge. We walked up to her and Chloris spoke; "Bia, how lovely to meet you after, oh gods how many millenia, anyway we have troubling news and we plan on hosting a urgent meeting tomorrow, please attent as it has to do with our half-blood children" Chloris ended. "Ugh, fine even though I hate meetings, since it has to do with my babies I will come, no one and I repeat no one touches my children" Bia said and walked past us and to the far end of the bridge. "Well that was quick I must say" I said and walked up the many step to enter the Throne room. - We entered the Throne Room to find only three gods present; Poseidon, Demeter and Hephaestus we all sitting in there thrones. Hepaestus was assembling and de-assembling a mini automaton in the palm with his hand, Demeter was twirling wheat stalks inbetween her fingers and Poseidon was inflating and deflating bubbles on each of his finger tips but as soon as Chloris and I entered the room all three stopped and looked at us. We bowed to each god and looked to Poseidon; "Lord Poseidon, Im afraid I bare terrible news. Im here to inform you that our feared enemy has returned and she is on the prowl" Chloris said and looked at her sandals. "You said she? You mean the child-eater don't you? what do you mean she has returned?" Demeter piped up. "Yes I dare say Lady Demeter that Lamia has returned, I do not know exactly how or when but this young Half-Blood child has brought intel to my husband and he asked us to ask for imidiate action to be taken" Chloris said and looked at me. "Yes my Lord, I have brought disturbing news. I feel that this could result in bloodshed as not only is Lamia back but she has started kidnapping and recruiting. She has since I last checked, Stheno, Nedaretho Telekhines, Orthrus, The Aloadae, Alops, the titans Hyperion, Coeus and Menotius and she has recently recruited Tityos the giant" I said and looked around at the empty thrones. "That is disturbing indeed, who has she managed to kidnap, no one serious I yet hope" Demeter said shuffling in her Throne. "She has kidnapped a child of Phoebe and what is most distressing is that she has kidnapped a god, Porus god of Plenty" I said suddenly the urge to fight became stronge. "Oh Gods, Hephaestus, go find my brother at once and bring him here and Demeter find Hera immediatly. Chloris what has your husband planned?" Poseidon said, Demeter and Hephaestus vanished. "He has sent four gods fourth, Lips, Libonotus, Aurora and Aura to Camp half blood, Camp J upiter and the two males went to there siblings to bring them here for an urgent meeting for the welfare of our children" Chloris said. "Ok, Chloris I need you to go find Athena and call her here also and child I want you to go find Bia in the coutyard and give her my orders to go inform her siblings to the meeting but let this intel not be spoken about loudly" Poseidon said "I shall go find Iris and Hermes to go get the other gods, all of them. I fear that Lamia will be well prepared this time round" Poseidon said and as I averted my eyes Poseidon vanished. I ran out to the Courtyard and Bia was not in plain sight she was trying to sneak into the Armoury of the gods and my instinct was not as great as I hoped it would be. This was not good. Chapter 6 I shuffled around the courtyard getting closer to the Armoury just close enough to seewhat Bia was doing. First of all she looked at Hera's lotus staff which contained Hera's strongest abilities.Then she glided over to Hephaestus's mighty hammer, which had fire ten times hotter than the sun, but yet again she wasn't satisfied. She moved to Aphrodite's dead rose septre which had the power to cause powerful separation between males and females. Yet again she moved away and up to a door. She placed her hand on the door and said a little three word incantaion and the door opened revealing a bigger lightning bolt than Zeus's Master Bolt. "Haha, it's ours now Lady Lamia. We shall not fail. We need a child of all the Gods and we can steal there Powers. With Zeus's Grand Bolt we shall prevail" Bia said with her eyes closed. I must stop her my mind thought. I walked to the front door of the Armoury temple. "And where do you think your talking that?" I said as I walked forward. "My dear cousin, you think that you can beat a goddess. Well maybe you could beat Aphrodite, but you beating the goddess of force is highly unlikely. Don't you think?" She asked and began chuckling. "Well I won't know until I try" I said and took out my dagger "You know what this is?" I added. "Why that is the dagger your mother gave you, it can open the door to a cell tartarus can it not?" Bia said studying me holding the dagger. "Well that is a significant factor to it's abilities, but it can also act as a god magnet. I could call a god here if I like. Well all except Zeus, Hera, Poseidon or Hades" I said and flipped the dagger in my hand. "You would dare disrupt the gods daily duties" Bia said taking a step backwards. "Oh let me see, who would be glad to throw you in Tartarus? Huh how about Persephone?" I said picking my brain through the different gods. "Haha thank flower goddess wouldn't know her head from her elbow. Try again demigod" Bia said now with a satisfying look on her face. "Maybe not Persephone, but I bet Demeter would love to rumble with you" I said and focused my energy on the dagger and stuck it into the ground. Out of nowhere, in a whirlpool of wheat grains appeared Demeter. "Alexis, how may I help you?" Demeter asked "Wait why are you in the gods Armoury?" she added. I pointed to Bia who was twirling the Grand bolt between her finger tips. "Bia, what are you doing with Lord Zeus's Grand Bolt" she covered her mouth from me but I could still hear "Demigods aren't supposed to know about it" she continued. "I honestly don't care what they know or don't. What I know is that with this weapon Lamia and her team shall have the power to conquer and prevail against all" Bia said and sent a shock of lightning through the roof. "Why do you do this Bia? You picked the wrong side again" Demeter said and walked back and forth. "Well Demeter you see as you Gods go about your daily duties, Lamia plans and plots to take you down. Now with the Grand Bolt victory is in sight" Bia said and focused the Grand bolt at Demeter. "So you want to do this, you sicken me. WHEAT SCEPTRE" Demeter said and a massive golden staff appeared and Demeter too pointed her staff at Bia. Bia muttered an incantation but the magnitude of the energy sent the energy shock through the roof. Demeter then just released a blast of golden energy which spiralled out into a tornado of wheat and it heaped itself on Bia and she was covered in a mount of wheat. In a loud bang she was released and again had the Bolt pointed at Demeter. "Well this was a fun experience. Bye Bye" Bia said and focused on the two energies. The one of the Grand Bolts and her own energy. And then she shot a bolt that directly at Demeter which hit her and sent her sprawling through a wall. Bia then focused the Grand Bolt at me. "You slaker, you really think you can stop us. Hahaha pathetic" she said and just as she started talking a gust of wind hit Bia and pinned her against the wall, Just as fast as she was against the wall two arrows spouted from her robes. "What is this ABOMINATION" Bia shouted. "Your demise you worthless witch. Artemis, Apollo bring her to the Grand Court" Zeus said, clicked his fingers and the Grand Bolt was placed back in the case. "Thank you demigod, we shall talk soon. Please wait in the Throne room and we shall all be along soon" Zeus said and walked away. Times like these, family means a lot. Chapter 7 I arrived in the Throne room and I never seen as much gods here before. In here were the 12 Olympians, Hestia, Hecate, Nike, Tyche, Hypnos (Asleep), Iris, Chloris, all the wind gods, Penia, Soter, Pheme, Nemesis, Hebe, Eilytheia, Aether, Eros and many, many more. I walked in and Zeus said "Let the meeting commence". "Why on Olympus did you call us here?" Hecate asked twirling a fireball in her hands. "You see Hecate, the She-monster is back and on the hunt again" Hera said glaring at Hecate and once she said it there was an uproar of whispering. "What do you plan to do about it?" Nemesis asked. "You see my family, she has already struck. She has kidnapped a child of Phoebe, twins of Penia and Porus" Poseidon said and looked at Zeus. "Is she working with anyone?" Iris asked. "Yes as a matter of fact she is. Stheno, Alops, Tityos, Telekines, a few titans, Orthrus and The aloadae" Zeus said. "What is the plan of action?" Athena asked. "I suggest we hit now, the sooner we do this the quicker we can resume daily duties" Geras said looking at a bottle of wine and it turns old so Dionysus picks it up and drinks it. "But what if we fail to prepare, we will be preparing to fail" Apollo said as did the muses. "Well said brother, as do I believe that we should plan now strike later" Artemis said and stroked an antelopes head that was resting beside her. I began to feel dizzy and I crouched down, as I closed my eyes the vision of Keith came into focus. "Help me, we are being abused, beaten and tortured. HURRY!" Keith said and the view of a woman with snake hair walking away was the last thing Keith let Alexis see. "My Lord's and Ladies, I just had empathic contact with the son of Phoebe. They are being tortured and beaten" I said and stumbled back to my corner beside Eos, goddess of the Dawn. "My Lord, what now. We can't have our children at risk like this" Hebe said pouring the wine for the gods. "We draw plans, I want the best at my table so that means, Ares, Athena, Pallas, Artemis, Apollo, Poseidon, Hades and Hera" Zeus said and stood, most of the gods went into an ajoining room. The Neutral Room. In the room she spotted her mother who was chatting and/or negotiating with Hecate (Her daughter) Leto (Her sister), Artemis (Leto's daughter and goddess of the Moon) and Urania (Muse of Astrology) "I reakon Orion has been over there far to long, he should be moved east" Leto said. "We can only do so much Aunt Leto, it would take a few decades to be able to move the stars in that order again" Hecate said. I walked over to join the conversation. "Hello Alexis, introductions, this is your aunt Leto, Lady Artemis, Urania, and your half sister Hecate, goddess of Magic" Asteria said. "I don't know how you are calm in distressing times like these" I said looking at the goddesses. "This is what women do, we worry about our own, I mean look at poor Penia over there, she is so heartbroken" Leto said and walked over to comfort Penia. "Do you know that Grandma Phoebe has appeared in my dreams?" I said to Asteria. "Really and what has she said?" Asteria asked looking bemused. "She informed me of Keith's disappearance and guided me to Maia who guided me to Skiron in the Louisville station and there I met Penia and its been from there all this happened" I told the ladies. "So now your here, ready to fight" Hecate said eyeing me up. "Any tips?" I asked. "Don't get killed" Hebe said butting in. "Scout out the field before you enter battle, make sure of your weapons and your enemies" Artemis said twideling her spear. "And what ever you do sweetheart, stay close and keep strong, I dont want to lose you" Asteria said and began to cry as she hugged me. I never had a real mother, only my dad and his dozen girlfriends who would slap me but one day, girlfriend number 8 went in for a slap but I headbutted her and kicked her ribs and sent her through the closed door. She left and the other girlfriends after that never stayed more than a month. Family is important, and right now Asteria was the closest thing I had to proper family Chapter 8 We waited for the best of an hour and Poseidon left the War Room accompanied by Artemis and the other gods. Poseidon left the building and went to his Temple on Olympus. Athena shapeshifted into an owl and flew off. Artemis and Apollo drew up their steads (Reindeer pulled chariot and a redish/yellowy Masarati), Hera turned into a magestic Red-tailed Hawk and fly off in a direction opposite to the rest, Hades strolled out and fell to the floor and as he did he shapeshifted into a Panther and jumped off the edge of the building, out came Ares who turned into a spine-tailed swift (fastest bird ever) and flew up high. Then out came Zeus who came forward. "I have sent these gods to scout America for any trails leading to Lamia. Now I need more gods, some who are good at tracking and revenge and of such traits. Aeolus I want you and your brothers in the air ASAP" Zeus ordered. "Yes my lord, as you wish" Aeolus said, clicked his fingers and all the Aeolus's winds including minor wind gods took turned to wind. "Iris and Hermes, I want a private link set up from God to God, Demigod to Demigod and from God to Demigod. I also want you to try and get a connection from the enemies messages, my bet is that your sister is on their side Iris, Arke" Zeus ordered. "My lord it could take us a while to break into their links, Arke is just as well informed as I am. She may even have better magic" "That may be but use all the connections you have, are we clear?" Zeus asked waiting on a reply. "Yes my lord, we understand" Iris said and gave Hermes a nod and both of the shoot up in a spiral of rainbow. "Hemera, Ersa, Eos, Selene and Helios. I need you protecting the sky and also keep survellance" Zeus said and the five mentioned gods flew to the skies. "Centaurs I need you, Pan and the Satyrs to try and track Lamia or any mysterious landmarkings etc. can you do that?" Zeus asked and the group galloped off. "Pheme you are the goddess of gossip and now your trait is needed. Go forth and get into contact with any of our comrades" Zeus said. "Yes my lord and I don't believe your feet are bigger than your head" Pheme said and she transformed into a Hyena and laughed going out the door. "And the rest of you keep a look out and get out Im splitting you into teams, we will team up together" Zeus said. 20 minutes later I was on a team of 16. The biggest team I have ever been on. On the team was: Soter (God of Safety), Aceso (Goddess of healing wounds), Harmonia (Goddess of Harmony), Pothos (God of Desire), Diemos (God of Terror), Mania (Goddess of Insanity), Kratos (God of Strength), Aletheia (Goddess of Truth), Kamio (Goddess of Torture and abuse), Adam Greylick (Son of Zelus), Hanna Bowshmite (Daughter of Arke, willingly came along), Laura Bellingham (Daughter of Pheme), Julie James (Daughter of Arete, Goddess of Virtue), Dean Summers (Son of Ersa), Hazel Mitchell (Daughter of Kaikas, God of the North-East wind) And Me. There where 20-30 groups. We where all given a certain place to look. Some even went put foreign. Our team led by Kratos were sent down south to scout out and see if we can find and lost causes to help us or find any new demigods and give them quick training. Although I never liked camp. Demigods should be trained in armed combat. The gods on our team gave us rides to Jacksonville, Florida which was at it's peak temperature and it was really warm. I decided i'd be adventurous and I cut off my trousers from the knee down to make shorts. When I looked at the others they made makeshift shorts also. They all seemed to be enjoying themselves. That is until we heard a snarl. We all turned around to see a giant panther staring at us from a tree branch. "Not all of us need to fight this, Kamio, take care of it" Kratos said and Kamio walked up to the Panther and began to stroke it and pet it. We all thought the same thing. Panthers are the least of our problems. Chapter 9 By "Least of our problems" I meant that Florida was well known for it's monster issues. More to our current issues, a horde of Mares of Thrace, Man-Eating Creatures. In myth, there where only four of these bad boys, but Lamia must have been working with higher powers. Harmonia tried emitting soothing tones through her hands to calm the creatures, but one of them knocked her back about a mile. Mania tried getting in their minds and halting their rampage, but they blocked her out. After the gods tried their powers on the creatures, we came to an agreement that we had to work together to take these out. The Gods weapons where amazing. Kratos had a fully golden club, that emitted tiny orange sparks, Diemos had the most terrifying weapon. A staff. But the staff could make your fears turn to reality. His shield would reflect your fear, terrorizing you. The Gods stood in a line, as if making a protective barrier around us. As they where distracted by the man-eating beasts, we had our own issue to deal with. Dracaenae. The awful snake-women who wielded nets and tridents, unlike Poseidon, they used their tridents for spearing, not shooting combustion-prone energy beams. About forty materialized. "Tactic #31" I shouted and the demigods all nodded in agreement. Hazel Mitchell took to the air and created a blustery wind, creating a barrier between the monsters and ourselves. Hanna Bowshmite used her powers to create a wave of dark rainbow energy, the powers of Arke, killing the first wave of disgusting, trunk-bottomed ladies. I pulled out my pistol and began using the monsters as target practice. ''Bang Bang Bang. ''They fell like a domino effect. This got Adam Greylick jealous, I could pluck the monsters with my gun. He took out his Locrisian Sword. It was a magnificent double-edged, red blade sword. The reason for the red blade is because his father, Zelus, dipped the sword in the blood of Odysseus. This made the sword have the ability to never miss it's target. ''Bang, Slash, Bang, Slash. ''That is all we could hear, that was until we heard the dreadful warcry. Along rode a woman in a navy cloak. Her black, red-highlighted hair flowing out of the hair as she galloped up to us on a gracious black mare. The gods and demigods all blocked their ears in unison as the woman rode by. We all knew who she was, but she rarely made appearances for anyone in her family. Expecially her godly family. She was Alala, the Goddess of the Warcry. She was fierce and a deadly warrior. She was the daughter of Polemos, a god of War. She rode up on her steed, shouting from the top of her lungs. I've heard the Satyr's Warcry many times before, expecially in times of severe distress. But Alala's Warcry was more powerful. The Mares of Thrace fell to the ground, blood pumping from their ears. The Dracaenae where vaporizing on the spot, the sheer force of her screech was enough to scatter their particles everywhere. Once they had been vanquished, she pulled the reigns on her mare and stopped next to us. We uncovered our ears. She dismounted her horse and was panicked. She seemed stressed. Harmonia could sense an inbalance with the Goddess and rushed over to her just as Alala broke into a wail and tears gushed from her eyes. "Shush shush, there you are. Calm down" Harmonia said, soothing Alala. "Tell us what happened..." Harmonia said, Aceso conjured a small chair for the disheartened Goddess to sit upon. "The Child-Eater... took my child!" Alala wailed, even louder. Birds flew away from the trees. "Oh dear. Zeus must be informed of this. You are not the only one, Alala. The Goddess of Poverty and The Titaness of the Bright Intellect have had a child of theirs taken" Aceso said, patting Alala's back. "I must leave. I will be with you-" she started, but Hanna fell as she was finishing her sentence. Aceso ran over to the fallen demigod, who stood, her eyes gone pitch black. Her back straightened. "Why hello. I see you've met our friends, The Mares of Thrace. Friendly fellows, that depends on who they work for, doesn't it?" said Hanna, but her voice was different, more defined. "Arke" Diemos said "What are you doing?! Why is the Child-Eater doing this to us?!" Diemos shouted. "Be quiet you! My leige will explain herself in due time. For now I have a message for her" Hanna pointed at me. My heart beat quickened. "You better watch yourself, or your dear friend Keith. Well... let's say when you manage to find him, the rats will have gotten to him first" Arke said and laughed, the laugh dulled and Hanna collapsed to the ground. Aceso rushed over to her again while Harmonia ushed me away. Great, more helpful hints. I need to get to Keith and the others fast. Or they are dead. The blood will be on my hands... Chapter 10 The night was brisk. The silence was horrifically eerie. The only noice was the crickets chirping in the night. 15 minutes... 30 minutes...an hour... went by and yet still no voice being heard, until Diemos spoke up. "Ok. We need a plan of serious action" he said and we all nodded. "Pheme! Get here. Now!" Diemos ordered. Trumpets sounded, a red carpet materialized from the sky and out came Pheme, wielding a long-horned brass trumpet. "Lord Diemos, a report I take it?" she asked and Diemos nodded in reply "Yes, my lady, we need to know what you know so far on Lamia?" Harmonia asked. "Well. Since the War Council. The She-Demon has made a certain amount off appearances on my radar. She has struck four times thus far. Two mortals, one fawn and another demigod child" Pheme said and set down her trumpet. "A child of who?" Hazel asked the Goddess. "We thought it was bad when she took a child of Phoebe. It got worse when she took a child of Penia and kidnapped our very own Porus. But now she's moving up the scale. She's taken a child of Athena. Out in broad daylight" Pheme said. Panic washed over the make-shift camp. Mania stood "My friends. We cannot let this hinder us. We need to take immediate action. Athena is one of our strongest warriors. If her children are vulnerable, we could all be doomed" "RIGHT. YOU. ARE" said a powerful, bone-shaking voice. Turning, a spear was placed in front of Alexis. Diemos stood in front of Alexis. "Tityos. If you want to get into a fight with someone. Pick on someone who is willing to fight you" he said and the giant began to ponder the idea. Alexis sunk back beside Kamio "Who is that?" she asked and Kamio replied in a snarl "Tityos. A dangerous opponent brought down by both Artemis and Apollo" Kamio said. "All you are, minor god, is a knock off of the War god Ares. You are weaker without your brother" Tityos said with a laugh. "Oh my dear giant. Do you not recognise my friends here?" Diemos replied and snarled. "Wow. Minor Gods. How frivoullous" the Giant mumbled and raised the spear but as he did, faster than even a blink, Kamio toppled the giant. She waved her hand and he was pinned down to the ground. She dug her how elongated nails, talons really and dug them into the giants yellowy skin. Blue-ish goo began to ooze out of the wound, enraging the giant. The giant thrashed and began to squirm rapidly making Kamio slip off his chest and down the giant's side. The giant released himself and began to roll on top of the Goddess. But just as he was at least an inch from her the Giant froze. I looked and saw Mania hovering in the air, hands on her head. "CLOSE YOUR EYES AND BLOCK YOUR EARS!" Aceso shouted and everyone both god and demigod did so. The giant arced it's back and howled in intense pain. Alexis could feel the ripples of energy penitrating her mind but she used all her might to form a mind block. This was a war to the death "DEMIGODS!" Aceso shouted "CHARGE". Category:Ersason219 Category:Stories Category:Original Idea Category:Goddess